Mesa Vista Lady Trojans

A cloud still hangs over Lady Trojan basketball.

Last January, Mesa Vista lost coach Leonard Torrez to COVID-19. But the team rallied after his death to continue what Torrez had started — a 7-0 start — and turned in the best year in team history. The Trojans finished 19-9, pulled a first-round upset as the No. 10 seed for their first state tournament win in team history, and in the quarterfinals went to the wire with the eventual state champions.

And that was a team with no seniors.

Now, Mesa Vista is back, loaded with talent, and a potential to become one of the top teams in the state, just two seasons after finishing 3-9. This will almost certainly be the best season in Lady Trojans history.

“We’re excited to show what Northern basketball is,” said coach Jesse Boies, who took over when Torrez was sick, and won the permanent job this summer. “Mesa Vista’s alive and well. And we’re going to show the north and the state who we are this year.”

And newly eligible transfer players — Camryn Johnson, Natasha Pacheco, Shanae Silva and Destiny Gonzales — will add great depth and shooting to a team with the ability to play big or small lineups. It’s hard to find a weakness on this team. Preseason scrimmage wins over Clayton and St. Michael’s showed how good they can be.

“We had a good season last year, so we’re pretty excited for this one,” said forward Amarissa Quintana.

Tana Lopez leads the scoring attack as a scoring-minded guard who can shoot from deep or slash to the basket. Amarissa Quintana is on the smaller side at forward, even for 2A, but makes up for it with a nose for the ball and great rebounding ability. And Bella Boies (ranked by PrepGirlsHoops as the No. 2 junior point guard in the state) is the glue at point guard, engineering the offense with a speed to push on every possession. The team’s bigs are also improved with the ability to keep up with the rest as they play high-tempo northern New Mexico basketball.

A big summer, including a trip to a Las Vegas, Nev. tournament facing club teams, brought the team closer and added more experience.

A tougher schedule, with games against larger schools and in the upper bracket at the Ben Lujan Tournament in Pojoaque, will give Mesa Vista early tests and measuring sticks (so don’t expect the same 9-0 start). They will face a tough district, but believe that they can win.

“We have to play with confidence,” Jesse Boies said. “Be proud to be a Lady Trojan right now.”